Boondocking at Pole Mountain

Boondocking in complete solitude (those specks are us)

I just got back from a fantastic two night boondocking trip up in Wyoming. Not far out of Larimie Wyoming is a section of the Medicine Bow National Forest which was used for military exercises after WW2. From I80 take the Happy Jack Rd exit. It leads you straight into a vast area (with many dirt roads branching out) available for camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, etc.

Driving on top of the clouds

The first thing I noticed of the area was the clouds… which you seem to be on, not below. Being at 8,600 feet in elevation there was an optical illusion that the clouds were below us at times. The other overwhelming site was the open pastures and rolling hills. As far as the eye could see the pastures extended out. On the second night we watched a thunderstorm rolling through the Western part of Nebraska, 60 miles away. Cheyenne, 40 miles away, glowed in the distance seemingly only a few minutes down the road.

I did little for the 2 days and 2 nights out there… primarily just hanging around and chatting with the McCarrell’s. Conor and I did do a short (very short) hike one one day and explored the ruins of the old bunkers on another. Other than that, there was barely enough time to eat after all the story sharing and laughter. For me, it was all about just hanging out with Pat and Nancy (and their moose) who I met for the first time at their place in Arizona earlier this year.

After hours of work, Father and Son create fire…

… while Nancy cooks dinner in the Casita

The “Moose” keeping a watchful eye on us all

Between the rolling hills is a patch of Aspen

Conor spies out of a bunker slit